Social media is overwhelming. The very thing that makes it remarkable and powerful also makes you feel like you're lost in the woods, at night, in heels, with only half of a Lara Bar in your purse. The volume and constant flow of messages can lead to an urge to stay constantly engaged to keep up-- let alone make any progress in getting your message out.
In working on a piece for Inc.com in collaboration with Vendeve, these bonus tips were shared with me. They come from Julie Lowe. Julie is a Facebook Ads expert whose mission is to make online marketing feel accessible and empowering - rather than mysterious & stressful - for every online entrepreneur.
Here's what Julie says...
- Use automation to your advantage. While you can't automate relationship building, you can schedule posts in advance. (Sit down once a week, create your content, and schedule posts to go out at set dates and times.) I use hootsuite but I know there are others out there like tweetdeck.
- Curate content to round out your posting schedule. Every post you share doesn't have to be your own original content. (Use tools like Postplanner or Scoop.it to find value-add content and avoid the burnout that can come from constant creation mode.) I use Feedly and am looking to change this up a bit.
- Set some boundaries. One of the reasons people get social media burnout is that it becomes a time-suck. You can easily lose hours of productivity each week if you're not careful. (Schedule social networking into your day like any other business activity, set your intentions for how to use that time, and set a timer if you have to!)
You can find Julie at SociallyAligned.com